Greyscale Manifest II: Clones
by EpicSmiley12
Summary: Night has fallen, and the grey strikes again...
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, again. Welcome back. Are you ready for this? Hold on…let's go for a ride…**

~%~

Eleanor bit her lip and clutched the tray tightly. Taking a deep breath, she knocked on the bedroom door three times. On the third knock it swung open, revealing a Chipette with a blank expression. Her brunette hair was in its usual messy bun. She wore a lilac t-shirt and black sweatpants. Her green eyes were dull behind her purple-rimmed glasses. Eleanor held out the tray awkwardly.

"D-dinner," she stuttered, refusing to look Jeanette in the eye. Jeanette took the tray, and Eleanor hurried back downstairs. The bespectacled Chipette set the tray down on her bedside table, then closed the door again. She looked over the food selection for today: meatloaf, string beans, mashed potatoes…nothing interested her.

Jeanette flopped back down onto her bed and stared at the ceiling. Her blank expression didn't change. Inside, however, she was in a tornado of wild thoughts. It had been two months since Theodore died. Two months. That's 62 days. That's 1,488 hours. For 1,488 hours, Jeanette had been dealing with this tragedy. To some, they would be surprised to know that SHE would be affected like this and not Eleanor. Though it was true that Eleanor had been terribly affected by the youngest chipmunk's death, something else about the death had affected Jeanette.

_**You're such a somber girl.**_

Jeanette groaned inwardly. Without looking toward the source of the voice, she replied to it.

"What do you want now?"

_**You know what I want.**_

"I refused your offer already, and the answer is still no."

_**You cannot hide from me for long, Jeanette Miller.**_

"I'm not hiding. I told you, I won't do your bidding."

_**You are making a mistake, Jeanette Miller. You cannot fight me.**_

"…I can try."

_**Your fierce determination is rarely seen. I want it. Why do you continue to deny me?**_

Jeanette rolled over to face the black-furred Chipette staring back at her. Besides the fur, it was like she was looking into a mirror. The ebony Chipette had the same green eyes, the same messy bun, and the same figure even, but there was something in her emerald eyes that ruined the image completely. Jeanette narrowed her eyes at the duplicate in her midst.

"I won't give in to you. I know what you are. I refuse to let you hurt anyone else."

The clone smiled slightly. It was nothing like the warm smile Jeanette gave; this smile was cold, no emotion showing in it at all.

_**I will get what I want, Jeanette Miller.**_

__With that, the strange entity lunged at Jeanette, seeping into her body through her very pores. Jeanette wanted to scream, but she had no control over her body anymore. Involuntarily, she knocked the tray of now-cold food to the floor, sending the meal everywhere. Jeanette pushed at the boundaries of her mind, trying to fight back, but he counterfeit self confined her to a small space, binding and gagging her. She watched helplessly through her mind's eye as her body opened the window and escaped into the evening.

_It's happening again…_


	2. Chapter 2

Night descended upon the neighborhood like a silent predator. Chilly air uncharacteristic of a California summer swept through the quiet streets of L.A. Most of house lights in the neighborhood were off. Amongst the dim sprinkling of stars in the sky glided a small figure. It landed on the roof of one house, then jumped swiftly to the next. It repeated this until it reached the city. Lurking in the shadowed alleys, it scanned the streets in search of something. Finally, its eyes locked onto a man walking down the street.

The man had his head down and his jacket collar up, shielding his neck and face from view. His hands were stuffed deep into his pockets. He walked alone, down the street and into an alley. The small figure, who was also in said alley, grinned in anticipation.

The man stopped and slumped against the wall. Sighing, he produced a cigarette and a lighter from his pocket. He lit the cigarette and took a puff. He relished in the feeling of the nicotine sparking his nerves. Nowadays, it seemed to be the only thing that kept him from feeling so low. Problems with his job, problems at home…nighttime was the only real peace he got.

As the man took another puff of smoke, he noticed something sticking from behind the dumpster. Curious, he took a look behind the bin, and was startled to see a young girl. She had big purple glasses and her hair done up in a bun. She looked as if she had been crying. The girl looked up at him with big, fearful green eyes. As he moved closer, she flinched.

"P-please don't hurt me, mister," she squeaked. The man flicked away his cigarette and knelt down to her level.

"I won't hurt ya, kid. Watcha doin' out here this late?" the little girl bit her lip.

"I-I got lost," she sniffed. "I-I wanna go home…"

"Don't worry, kid. What's say I help you find your mom?"

The girl smiled as she stood up, her face beaming with gratefulness.

"Thank you, mister!" she said. She smiled broadly, revealing, to the man's shock, rows of gleaming, sharp teeth. He backed away, but realized he was cornered.

To his horror, the little girl began to swell, her skin bubbling and morphing like wax. She grew taller and taller, until she was two times bigger than him. Before he could think to move, the new creature lashed out with a jet-black claw, catching him on the shoulder. He yelped and fell to the ground. Clutching his bleeding shoulder, he searched frantically for something to defend himself with-

The monster raked his back with its claws, making him scream in pain. Then the demon pulled him from the ground and stared at him with two shockingly different eyes. One was a bright, blood red, the other a cold steel grey. It opened its gaping mouth, revealing once again the razor-sharp teeth, and began to inhale.

The man was quite in shock. From his body, a whitish mist flowed into the monster's mouth. The demon gave a happy growl and continued to suck the life from the man, whose skin grew wrinkled and aged with every bit of mist. Finally, the monster released him, and he collapsed to the ground. He lay still, unmoving, unseeing. The monster began to shrink back into the form of a little girl. She collapsed with a gasp. Upon seeing the man's body, she burst into tears.

"Why? Why do you do this!" she sobbed.

_**I must feed. I need life force.**_

"You kill innocent people!"

_**Their life means nothing to me besides the fact that it is food.**_

Distant police sirens sounded from the city. Jeanette looked up, half-expecting someone to be standing over her. There was. The ebony-furred Chipette from earlier grabbed Jeanette's arm roughly, pulling her to her feet.

_**We must leave. Know this, Jeanette. I will not stop until you give me your life.**_

Jeanette could do nothing but weep as she was carried into the star-sprinkled sky.


	3. Chapter 3

Jeanette yawned as she slumped on the empty lunch table. She had taken to sitting alone over the past few weeks. She stole a glance at her friends as they sat together. They quickly turned around and pretended that they hadn't been staring at her. She sighed. It was a painful thing to witness. As two kids walked by her table, she caught a snippet of their conversation:

"Yeah, I heard it on the news."

"Two more people in one night…it seems like a conspiracy."

"They say they were attacked by some sort of animal…"

Jeanette buried her face in her hands as the kids walked away.

_**Are you seriously feeling guilty?**_

Jeanette groaned as the last voice she wanted to hear filled her ears. Keeping her head down, she mumbled a response.

"It's all your fault." A small chuckle rang in her ears.

_**Dear, dear, Jeanette. I think you are mistaken. There is something you have yet to realize.**_

__Jeanette stole another glance at her friends. Before she could say anything, the voice appeared again.

_**Look at those rats. Don't they see their friend sitting over here alone?**_

"They're not rats!" Jeanette said indignantly.

_**Have they even once come to ask what ailed you? Have they?**_

"No, but-

_**Do they really even talk to you anymore? Can you even call them your friends?**_

"They ARE my friends!"

_**Your own sister fears you. Your own love interest doesn't care for you.**_

"He is NOT my love interest!"

_**I can see within you, Jeanette. I know you fancy him.**_

"But I know Simon cares for me!"

_**List every day that he's come to see you.**_

Jeanette opened her mouth, but it was a while before she thought of a retort.

"He has a lot to worry about! Ever since Theodore…" She couldn't say it.

_**Tell me something, Jeanette. Do you know what killed Theodore?**_

"No-one does. The doctors couldn't figure it out."

_**Why do you think that is so? Use your logic. I know you will see the answer.**_

"But if doctors couldn't understand-

_**It isn't about understanding. You have no right to truly understand.**_

"You're playing mind games with me!"

_**I'm getting you on the right track. Think harder.**_

Jeanette jumped from the table and dumped her tray. Frustrated, she went out into the empty garden behind the quad.

_**It is peaceful here, now think.**_

"Mind games…the doctors…the doctors couldn't understand because of mind-because of mind games! Something was in Theodore's mind!"

_**Good. You have half of it. What else?**_

"He acted really strange prior to dying…something made him act…different…"

Jeanette's face contorted in horror as the terrible truth settled in. She looked down into her lap, where her shaking hands sat. Out the corner of her eye she could see a familiar ebony figure standing next to her.

"You…it was you, wasn't it?"


	4. Chapter 4

The ebony-furred Chipette smiled evenly at Jeanette.

_**Yes. It was me.**_

"Why?" was all Jeanette could say. Her voice was quiet and shaky. She felt an ice-cold hand on her shoulder.

_**I needed his life energy. It is what keeps me alive.**_

Jeanette felt as small and scared as a child. So many questions formed in her mind that she felt a headache coming on.

"Are you a monster?"

_**No. I am bacteria. I am a parasite. A disease of the mind. The life energy of other living things is what keeps me alive. That is why I am after you. Your life energy is strong. I must have it.**_

The last sentence sounded more like a demand. Jeanette screwed her eyes shut as memories from the past several weeks flowed through her mind's eye.

"_I j-just can't believe he's gone!" Eleanor sobbed quietly, clinging to Brittany. Her older sister hugged the blonde girl tightly, tears rolling down her own face. Alvin and Simon stood with Dave, sobbing quietly. Jeanette stood near her sisters, silent tears dropping to the ground. They were all wearing formal black clothing, and in front of them was the coffin that held the youngest Chipmunk._

_Suddenly, a soft voice reached her ears._

"_Jeanette…Jeanette…please…help me…help me…"_

_That voice was so familiar…Jeanette shook her head slightly. It couldn't be. There was no way it was him. It wasn't possible. But still, the voice rang clearly through everything._

"_Jeanette…help me…help me…"_

_With every refrain, the voice seemed to grow louder and deeper. Jeanette was afraid now. The voice was no longer Theodore's. Looking up, she saw not a coffin, but a shadowy figure looming over her. It smiled, revealing razor-sharp teeth. The thing reached toward her with long arms that moved like smoke._

"_Help me…"_

The scene changed, and Jeanette saw her sister Eleanor on the floor, her face bruised, staring up at her with frightened eyes.

"_D-don't!" she cried, raising her hands above her head. Jeanette stopped her punch in mid-air. She looked at the bruised, cowering Chipette beneath her and scowled._

"_You will tell NO-ONE of this!"_

"_O-k-k-kay…I w-won't, I p-promise!" Eleanor sobbed as Jeanette gingerly pulled her up._

The scene changed again, and Jeanette saw a terrified old woman, a sobbing middle-school girl, and the broken body of the man from the alley…

A terrible rage surged through Jeanette. It raced through her nerves and into her brain. She opened her eyes, and all she saw was red, with grey specks at the edge of her vision. She glared daggers at the crimson-tinted Chipette before her. With a yell of uncharacteristic rage, Jeanette charged at the clone, but it moved out of the way just in time. Fuming, Jeanette screamed.

"Stop hiding! Stop hurting innocent people!"

_**And here I thought you were smart.**_

"What are you talking about!"

_**Don't you get it? The longer you resist me, the more people I make you kill. It's that simple.**____**.**_ _**Tua**____**pertinacia**____**solum**____**ad**____**passio**____**aliis…**__*****_

"I can't understand you!"

_**Istuc nunquam**____**intelligeret.**__******_

A horrible scream filled Jeanette's ears, and she clapped her hands over them. Grey spots dotted her vision. White-hot pain seared through her veins. She could feel her heart pounding in her throat, then all over her body. The pain blinded her, and all she could see was grey.

_**You are mine…mine…**_

And so the grey reigns on…

~%~

***Your stubbornness only leads to the suffering of others…  
>**You will never understand.<strong>

**(Taken from Google Translate, forgive me if it's wrong)**


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